Tongue-support



(No Model.)

G. A. BRIOE.

TONGUE SUPPORT.

Patented Dec. 13, 1887.

J Jim WM]:

UNITE STATES PATENT Fries.

GEORGE A. BEIGE, OF TITUSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

TONGUE-SUPPORT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No 374,583, dated December 13, 1887.

Application filed March 16, 1887.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. Baron, a citizen of the United States, residing at Titusville, in the county of Crawford and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Wagon-Tongue Supports, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates, principally, to heavy wagons for two horses, where the tongue is hinged to the hounds and supported by a spring or springs attached to the hounds and operating under the tongue to prevent it from dropping to the ground or resting tooheavily upon the necks of the horses, and at the same time having an elasticity of vertical motion easy to the horses, my object being to make one which, while perfectly effective, shall be durable, cheap, not cumbersome, easily and.

quickly applied to old and new wagons, and easily removable. This I accomplish by the device illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of thetop of the tongue and hounds and the adjacent parts; Fig. 2, a View of the spring detached, and Fig. 3 an enlarged view of the saddle detached, it being the support or fulcrum over which the spring rests.

A represents the axle; B, the sand-board; O, the hounds; E, the tongue; F, the bolt through the hounds and tongue, and on which the tongue swings vertically; G, the king-bolt.

H is a spring, made of spring-steel, in the form of a loop, as shown in Fig. 2, the arms of which are of such length as that they will reach from the sand-board forward, and under the tongue, forward of the hounds. When in place, the spring has the middle of the bar or the loop under the tongue forward of the hounds, and the two open ends passing back and up through an opening on either side of the straight part of the tongue, over the bolt F,and with the two ends under the sand-board B and resting against it. On the under side of the tongue, to provide a rest and wearingplate for the spring, is placed the plate I, having the two lugs i 1', extending downward sufficient that the bolt j shall prevent the spring from dropping out of place when the tongue easy to the horses.

Serial No. 23l,106. (No model.)

is lifted. The space between the lugs it should 0 be alittle more than the thickness of the spring, to allow for a play backward and forward as the spring bends.

To provide a resting-place or fulcrum for the spring, I place on the bolt F, on each side 5 of the tongue, the saddles K. (Shown more fully and enlarged in Fig. 3.) These are made for the bolt to slip through and to revolve freely on it. On the upper side is the transverse groove 7c, in which the spring H rests. These saddles may be made somewhat in the form of an eccentric,or having arms of differ ing lengths, so that the fulcrum may be made higher or lower, as required. Similar plates to the plate I may be placed under the sandboard as wearing-plates to the ends of the spring. These are not shown. It will now be seen that when the spring is properly applied the tongue is upheld in an elastic manner To apply the spring to an old wagon only requires the bolt F to be withdrawn, the saddles K placed thereon, the plate I secured to the under side of the tongue, the tongue raised, and the spring slipped into place and adjusted 75 with the arms on either side of the tongue and king-bolt, the ends under the sand-board and the middle of each arm resting on the saddles K, the loop placed between the lugs 'i i, the tongue lowered till it rests on the spring, the bolt j inserted, and the work is done. To remove the spring, the bolt j is removed, the outer end of the tongue is raised off from the spring, and the spring withdrawn. To adjust the tongue at proper height, raise the tongue and spring and revolve the saddles K K until the proper height of fulcrum is attained.

The spring, being only a bar of spring-steel bent in proper shape,is of very little cost, as are also the other appliances, and being so easily applied to the tongue,the whole forms a cheap, effective, and durable support.

I am aware that springs of somewhat similar nature and for the same purpose have heretofore been applied to wagons, but none so simple, cheap, or easily applied and adjusted as mine. I make, therefore, no claim for spring tongue-supports having the end bearings under the tongue and under the axle similar to mine, but coiled around the pivot-bolt or fulcrum.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A wagon-tonguesupport consisting of a spring formed of a loop of steel wire, constructed as described, with the two arms nearly straight, the middle or loop end supporting the tongue in front of the hounds, resting against the under side of the same, the two arms passing backward over saddles upon the bolt, confining the tongue to the hounds, the saddles acting as fulerunns, and with the rear ends of the arms bearing against the under side of the sand-board on either side of the king-bolt, the whole so constructed and attached that the spring shall be easily removable on raising the forward end of the tongue, substantially as shown and described.

2. For a tongue-support, the spring H, con-- 

